Niger: We Also Have Civilian Coups – Prof. Akinyemi

A former foreign affairs minister in Nigeria, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi has submitted that all forms of coup should be condemned. This is as he postulated that coups are motivated by bad governance.

Speaking against the background of the recent military coup in Niger Republic, Prof. Akinyemi said apart from military coups, there is another type of coup political scientists refer to as civilian coups.

Explaining what he meant during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, the former Minister said civilian coups are when the sitting president manipulates the constitution of the country to secure/legalize term elongation.

According to him, however, no matter the name by which it is called, coups should be condemned.

He said, “Coups have been motivated by bad governance. Not only bad governance, there is something that has crept into the language of political scientists, which is called civilian coups.

“This is when you have the sitting president who manipulates the constitution for term elongation. Some even scrapped the concept of term limitation.

“The Central African Republic has done so, having completed the regulation two terms he now introduced a new constitutional amendment having seven years starting with him.

“He removed members of the supreme court and assembled new judges and called on his people to have a referendum. His people adopted the referendum. This is a civilian coup, which deserves to be condemned.

“President of Senegal toyed with the idea of term elongation until when people poured into streets and got killed, property destroyed. He then backed. Even when they keep within the term, the corruption is so endemic that politicians get pats, while the people lose weight. The devastating state of our economies in Africa, we don’t deserve that because of our resources.”